8:11 April Highlights

Yowza... how have 3 weeks passed since my last post?!  My last 3 weeks have been full of wonderful things... a visit from Mary, a trip to Oklahoma for a wonderful reunion-filled wedding, putting on a charity event at WB for foster youth, seeing my teenage dream, Adam Brody (aka Seth Cohen from "The O. C."), etc. ;-)  Busyness aside, please forgive my blog negligence. 

Here are my top 11 favorite things that happened last month at 8:11 PM.  (After Garrett's snarky comment about having too many 'highlights' for March, I've decided to put a cap on it...harder than one might think! I'm not the best at the process of elimination.) 

8:11-food truck Monday with @mike_beier. We have the coolest neighborhood. :-)

8:11-a fun night in downtown Houston w/ my dear mother. Dinner and a play...next up: dessert at the aquarium. Holla!

8:11- so excited to see my darling @salvie! a definite benefit of my parents living in houston. 

8:11- such a lovely Easter relaxing with my parents. Love them and love this wonderful holiday.

8:11- we just zumba'd. It was hilarious and fun.

8:11- art opening/music video premiere w/ @jinahbean, @johnnyhollywood, and @jessicacmitchell. cha chiiing.

8:11- post-church din/drinks at Spitz w/ 3 of the coolest girls I know. :-) 

8:11- commencing another epic Los Feliz pub crawl with @marygaris and @mike_beier. Hollaaa.

8:11- wonderful duncan reunion at Bar Marmont w/ @marygaris and @missalf. #cheers.

8:11- din at my fave restaurant (Masa) w/ my fave people ( @marygaris, @garrettfbaker ). #snarkytrio.

8:11- @jinahbean brought me to a backyard party/fireside comedy show. Raaaandom (slash amazing) Friday night.

Another great thing that happened in my life in April....

That's right... I became a fan of the British boy band sensation, One Direction. hahah. Pure curiosity about this group that was formed on England's X-Factor and was suddenly taking America by storm caused me to YouTube them one night. I really was like a skeptical old lady..."well, let's see what all this crazy hype is about..." And the next thing I knew, I was like "hmm... this song is really catchy."  And the next thing I knew, I was listening to them on repeat and know all the lyrics (Mary and I had some legitttt sing-alongs on the way to Palm Springs) and  I can rank the members in descending order of how much I like them (Harry and Liam are my faaaaves). ;-) Yes, I realize they are young children and this is slightly embarrassing/ridiculous. But I defy you to give them a listen (I suggest "One Thing" (shown above) and their other single "What Makes You Beautiful") and NOT be singing it all day in your head. It's impossible!

xoxo, 

Annie. 

"Home"

Home is where the heart is...

...or say they say. 

I didn't quite believe 'them' when my parents moved to a strange new city a couple years ago.  This foreign place was definitely not 'home' to me.  

Home is Duncan, Oklahoma...

Where I spent the first 22 years of my life. 

Where I met Mary when I was 2 years old.

Where I walked out of my backyard and I was at my elementary school.

Where I painted my room turquoise and plastered my walls with Hanson posters.

Where I played hundreds of games of tennis.

Where I had my first kiss.

Where I had my first job.

Where I learned how to drive.

Where I knew almost everyone in my graduating class.

Where I could get anywhere in the entire town in 10 minutes or less. 

Where I knew all my teachers before I even had them in class.

Where Mary's house was one song-length away. 

I used to hate Duncan.  It was so lame and boring and small.  I used to beg my parents to move. It was funny that when I finally did move away, I immediately started to appreciate and become nostalgic about my sweet little hometown.  I loved visiting there.  

I miss it. 

I visited my parents for Easter a couple weeks ago. It was my third time to visit

Houston...

Where I love eating breakfast on the wonderful patio.

Where I could ride on the amazing bike trails everyday.

Where there's a neighborhood tennis court around the corner.

Where I cuddled with my cats for many hours. 

Where I relaxed with my parents for many hours. 

Where I looked through hilarious old photo albums. 

Where we went to church for Easter.

Where I met up with an old friend from college. 

Where there are endless bars/restaurants to try. 

Where I got countless hugs. 

Where I'm already wanting to visit again.

There's no doubt, Duncan will always be my beloved hometown, but I think that I finally get the quote about home being where the heart is too.  :-)  

xoxo, 

Annie. 

Movie Star Friends and All That [Blue Like] Jazz

I've mentioned before how excited I get when my talented actor friends get a great part. This is an extra exciting weekend because my dear friend Matt is making his big screen debut in Blue Like Jazz which opens nationwide TODAY.

This movie has quite the "little engine that could" story.  It has been 4+ years in the making, and as I mentioned in this post,  production was put on hold indefinitely in 2010 due to lack of funding.  Fans of the best-selling book wouldn't have that, though.  Thousands of fans donated the necessary funds to make it a reality.  I'm going with a group of friends to see it tomorrow, and you should add it to your weekend plans too!  Click here to see if it's playing in your city.

(Matt's the one with a Russian accent who says "You know nothing!")

In other I'm-so-proud-of-my-talented-friends news, my wonderful friend Kiersten was on Grey's Anatomy last week! 

She played a crazy girl who got mauled by her PET LION. I think it was equal parts exciting and disturbing to see her all bloodied up on that stretcher.  (A+ work, Grey's Anatomy make up department!) You can watch the full episode here. (Warning: the storyline with the sweet old couple is sad...I love old people!).

Fantastic work, darlings! :-) 

xoxo, 

Annie. 

8:11 March Highlights

Is it just me, or is 2012 flying by at an unnaturally fast pace? How in the world is it 1/4 over already? Crazy, I tell you.

Even with its seemingly rapid pace, March was pretty legit. (You know it's a good month when half of the days end up as 8:11 highlights). ;-) Here are my favorite things that occurred at 8:11 pm last month:

8:11-bidding sweet @nikehair farewell at Lola's w/ my Academy darlings as he heads to a new exciting job! :-)

8:11-tonight we are extras in @my_coal_rose's movie, Sure Enough.(to find out how you can get get a producers credit on this inspiring indie feature, click here). 

8:11- at Lola's (for the 2nd time in a week) with my dear former coworkers. :-)

8:11- celebrating @sorenaolsen's bday and hanging out w/ dear robbie for the first time since 07! 

8:11-so much food! so much booze! So ready for the Bachelor finale! Yessss.

8:11-feeling extra American at seanzie and @istantray's softball game w/ @eaken and meliss.

8:11- seanzie is teaching us to dougie. Very educational CG tonight!

8:11- @bhasemeyer and @kierstenlyons invited me over for an impromptu delicious feast! What a pleasant surprise.

8:11- @katiehutchings ❤s the delish homemade din I made us tonight. Holla

8:11-celebrating st patrick and the bday of @derekschulte w/ green beer, naturally.

8:11- delicious pizza feast at Delancey w/ @eaken, @mckenziemorris, @xxashleybrooke, etc. holla.

8:11- words can't describe my excitement right now. May the odds be ever in your favor. #hungergames.

8:11- Bardot is transformed into a casino tonight for a very fun and worthy charity event. Luck be a lady tonight. (w/ @elisand).

“8:11- delish post church din at Five Guys. It lived up to the hype...so good.

8:11- time for a muuuch needed massage from Massage Lizard. Knots be gone! :-)

8:11- movie night w/ @jinahbean and the kitties (im cat-sitting). #yessss

 8:11- happy birthday to the fantastic @mjburstin at Rock and Reilly's. Holllaaaa.

xoxo, 

Annie. 

Happy Hunger Games Week!

It's finally almost here.  This Friday (3/23) is the theatrical release of The Hunger Games.  

I have anxiously been awaiting this date since I fell in love with the book this summer (after first hearing about it from Mary's book club), and I literally have NEVER been this excited for a movie in my entire life.  I have a tendency to speak in superlatives, but I can assure you that there is not an ounce of hyperbole in that statement. I truly have never felt this way about a movie before (says the girl who works in the movie business...).  If you haven't read the books yet, you should get on that immediately, and you will understand why I'm so excited to see this enthralling, heart-pumping tale of courage, loyalty and survival come to life on the big screen.

Here are things I'm doing to prepare for the exciting debut...

1.) Buying my ticket way ahead of time.

I don't know if this will be an issue in other parts of the country, but this movie is selling out like crazyyy all over LA. I got a big group of my friends together and we all bought our tickets a week and a half ago, and even that early, we had to pick a theater in the valley. (Gasp!) If you're planning on going opening weekend, check ticket availability and showtimes here. 

2.) Watching the trailer many times.

The Hunger Games Trailer from SpineOut on Vimeo.

It gives me chills.  Every time. 

3.) Re-reading the book. 

I read the first book on vacation last July, so I wanted a refresher.  Some people have advised against re-reading a book right before you see the movie because you will be more keenly aware of the differences, however several people I know who have already seen the film say that it is "the most honest portrayal of a book they've ever seen," so I think this will be okay.  Plus, this time around, I am picturing the cast in the roles as I'm reading it, which is a different, vivid experience than when I first read it.  (I think it's even better the second time around).








3.) Listening to this playlist on Spotify.  The sure-to-be-amazing soundtrack (featuring T Swift, The Civil Wars, Arcade Fire, Birdy, Kid Cudi, and many more) comes out today, 3/20, and I fully intend to go buy it on my lunchbreak. In the meanwhile, though, this wonderful soundtrack has kept me occupied. It starts with the haunting T Swift/Civil Wars duet, "Safe & Sound," but the rest of the songs are instrumental.  With titles like "Rue's Lullaby," "The Girl Who Was on Fire," and "Reaping Day," these instrumental beauties really capture and highlight some major plot points.

4.) Painting my nails with Hunger Games nail polish.

That's right.  China Glaze and Lionsgate teamed up to create The Capital Colors Collection with colors for each district based on the district's characteristics (coal for District 12, agriculture for District 11, etc.)  Even though I thought some of the other district's colors were prettier, you KNOW I picked District 12 (shown at left). Holla.












5.) And, finally, I'm listening to and laughing at this hilarious parody song by Holly Laurent (to the tune of Lana Del Rey's song "Video Games").  My savvy brother sent me this video a few weeks ago, and I loved it.  The lyrics are pure gold.

I hope my over-zealous, nerdy-bordering-on-obsessive excitement for this movie has been contagious and that you enjoy it as much as I'm sure I will. ;-)  

May the odds be ever in your favor...

Annie. 

Another Wonderful Weekend With Kayla

Kayla seems to be making a (wonderful) habit of weekend trips to visit me for Bootie LA (and I seem to be making a habit out of blogging about them a month late). Her last visit at the beginning of February was a glorious mix of fun and relaxation. Highlights include a proper Hollywood night out, lots of delicious food (like Masa, Luna Park, The Alcove, Lemonade, In-n-Out Burger and bacon-wrapped street vendor hot dogs), Marcie's invigorating pilates class, Bootie LA, the Taylor Swift concert DVD, a Super Bowl party at a fancy Bev Hills mansion, and a screening at the Academy.

All of these events and more are displayed in Kayla's lovely video scrapbook below... hahah...

Can you belive it's February? from Kayla Krittenbrink on Vimeo.

Already looking forward to our next weekend adventure together, dear. :-)

xoxo, 

Annie.

Essentials for a Bachelor Watch Party

As you may know, I am serious about my watch parties for the ridiculously insane television franchise that is The Bachelor. 

Even though the bachelor this season was sort of an ass and looks like Francine from "Arthur"...

....and he's more than likely going to pick this psycho biatch

...my friends and I love it every single Monday. 

It's hard to believe how fast the season goes by, but tonight is the FINALE.  Therefore, I thought it would an appropriate time to share the key ingredients that make these watch parties a highlight of my week. 

1.) Snarky friends

This is definitely not a show to watch alone. Half the fun is making fun of the hilarious crazies together. There was a brief time when I first moved to LA and didn't have a watch party group, and I would watch the episodes on abc.com alone in my room...I hope to never return to those dark days ever again. We honestly miss about 30% of the dialogue because we are too busy with our own commentary. ;-)

2.) DVR

I don't know what we would do without DVR. The show is 2 hours every Monday, so we don't start watching until it's about 20-30 minutes in, so we can skip all the commercials, making it much more tolerable. 

3.) Food

We have a potluck style party food spread every week, and it never disappoints. We usually have an extra special spread for the premiere and finale episodes (like the chocolate fountain and caviar included in the photo at the left for our premeire party this season). Mid-way through this season we tried to start bringing slightly healthy-ish snacks so we didn't all feel the need to hit the gym for several hours the following day. (That rule doesn't apply to finale night tonight, of course). ;-)

4.) Booze

Wine is our weekly staple in the booze department, but occasionally we mix it up with margs or daquiris if we're feelin' festive. We loosely play a drinking game (although if we strictly adhered to the rules, we'd all be wasted every week) that goes something like this...
Drink every time:

• Someone cries
• Someone says the word "journey"
• Someone says the word "connection"
• Someone says something else overly corny/ridiculous
• Ben's hair looks extra bad 

All these essentials definitely make Mondays MUCH more enjoyable.  My watch party girls and I are so sad when the season is over not to have these built in girls nights every week.  This season isn't even officially over yet and we're already looking forward to the new Bachelorette season coming up in a few months. :-)

If you're not into the show and think it looks completely stupid and ridiculous, you should get a group of friends together and try it out! Here's a good article listing reasons you might just love it. And if you ARE already into it, enjoy the finale tonight! (Here's to hoping he picked the bitchy model and they already broke up.) ;-)

xoxo, 

Annie.